Tepee tent



March 3l, 1959 J. W. ARBORE TEPEE TENT Filed July 10, 1958 `INVENTORc//Wf' IM ei ATTORNEY United States Patent C) TEPEE TENT .lames W.Arbore, Latrobe, Pa. Application July 10, 1958, Serial No. 747,639

Claims. (Cl. 13S-4) This invention relates to a tepee tent and has foran object to provide an improved tepee tent, particularly intended foruse by children, but of course, likewise capable of being made in a sizesuitable for adults. A further object of this invention is to provide atepee tent which is devoid of any center pole and thus has a maximumamount of space within it, and which is readily assembled anddisassembled, and when disassembled, may be stored in a suitablecontainer convenient for storage and for transportation.

A further object of this invention is to provide a tepee tent kthat maybe marketed in package form, that is, with the parts all unassernbledbut capable of being easily assembled into the completed form for usewhen desired and which may thereafter be easily disassembled, allwithout the use or need for any particular tools.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a tepee tent whichmay be assembled to -a form somewhat resembling that of an Indian tepeetent, and wherein a tent cover is provided having cover mounting meanscooperating with cover mounting means on a primary set of supportingpoles, and also provided with a secondary set of supporting poles tomaintain the tent cover so as to provide a maximum area therewithin.

In brief, this invention is a tepee tent consisting principally ofvtentcover, a primary set of poles pivoted together adjacent one end thereof,a flexible cord or chain secured to each of the primary poles at aslight distance below the pole pivoting means and of a size to limit thespreading of the other ends of the poles to a desired triangular orpolygonal formation, these primary tent poles having hooks near theirtop and bottom ends so as to cooperate with cooperatively locatedeyelets on the tent cover, the tent cover having an entrance openingpreferably provided with lace means for closing it when desired, asecondary set of poles equal in number to the primary set of poles butpreferably of lesser diameter and lighter weight although of the samelength as the primary poles, and each secondary pole has its top endinserted between the pivoted top ends of two adjacent primary poles andhaving its bottom end inserted in the ground between the same twoadjacent primary pole ends to thus maintain the bottom of the tent in aformation having -an outline with twice as many sides as the outlinethat would be provided by the primary poles alone. Each of the poles ofboth sets are made preferably in two pieces with a sleeve joint forsecuring the two pieces together. The tent cover also acts as a kitcover, the tent cover being rolled about the collapsed poles assembledtogether, with the apex closure also wrapped therea-bout, and is vthentied up in a readily stored or carried kit or package. Obviously, thetent cover may be decorated also with suitable pictures or Indianemblems to please a child or other owner.

With the above and related objects in view, this in-r vention consistsin the details of construction and the combination of parts ashereinafter disclosed, claimed, and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the tepee tent of this invention, setup in assembled form.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2 2 of Fig. l, somewhat in phantom.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the top ends of the supportingpole in set up position.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4 4 of Fig. 5, showing the polepivoting means.

Fig. 5 is a partly fragmentary view of the primary set of poles, showingthe pole sections assembled, ready to be spread apart to tent supportingposition.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line 6--6 of Fig. 7

showing the tent poles with their sections separated and assembledwithin the tent cover providing a tent kit.

Fig. 7 s an elevational view of the assembled tent kit for easy storageor transportation. f`

Fig. 8 is an elevation of the tent apex and apex cover. There is shownat 10 the tepee tent of this invention in assembled form, consisting ofa tent cover 12, a primary set of poles 14 and a secondary set of poles48. Each primary pole 14 is made up of two pole sections 16 and 18, thelower pole section 18 being provided with a ground penetrating meanssuch as a spike 20 at its lower end and adjacent this lower end there isprovided a hook 22 for cooperating with a cooperatively located eyelet54 on the tent cover 12 for securing the tent cover.

thereto. At the joining end of the lower pole 18 there is provided asleeve 24 fastened thereto by a pin 26 and extending beyond the endthereof for receiving the lower end of the upper pole section 16. Inorder to maint-ain a uniform diameter of the assembled pole 14,the'joining ends of the pole sections 16 and 18 are slightly reduced, asillustrated in Fig. 5 at 28 and 30, so that the o uter diameter of thesleeve 24 is the same as the diameter of the pole sections 16 and 18.

A second hook 22 is provided adjacent the top end of each upper polesection 16 for likewise cooperating with cooperatively located eyelets54 at the upper end of the cover 12 adjacent its apex 32.

At a distance slightly below the top end of eachof two upper polesections 16 there is provided diametrically extending openings forreceiving a pivoting bolt 34 having a wing nut 36 for pivotally securingtwo of the 'poles 14 together. A similar pivot bolt 38 extends through adiametrical opening in one of the rst pivoted ypoles slightly below thefirst mentioned diametrical pivot holes therein and through the thirdpole at the same distance from the top end as the second pivot opening.Thus, one of the poles 14 has two slightly spaced apart pivot holes ex,tending therethrough, as illustrated in Fig. 4, at an angle:

to each other and each of the other two of the primary poles have asingle pivot hole extending therethrough. A

Located somewhat below the two pivots 34 and 38 on the primary set ofpoles 14 is a iexible member or chain 40 secured to each of these polesas at 42.

As a result of the primary poles 14 being pivoted to each other as abovedescribed, the poles 14 may be pivoted thereabout to the limit permittedby the flexible` chain or cord 40 so that the bottom ends of the poles14 will extend in triangular formation similar to the triangularformation of the limiting chain 40.

The tent cover 12 is made of suitable canvas or duck material and may bemade of several panels sewed or otherwise secured together at seams 44,one of the seams as 46 being left open to provide an entrance opening 47extending from the bottom to near the top where the seam is sewed up tothe apex 34, the apex 34 being left open so 'that the top of the poleends may extend therethrough as shown in Fig. 1.

A secondary set of poles 48 is provided, the poles 48- being preferablylighter in weight and smaller in diameter' than the poles 14 of theprimary set. Each pole of the Patented Mar. 31, g.

primary set is similarly divided into two sections and is provided witha similar joint for securing the two sections together and is providedwith a similar ground penetrating spike as the primary poles, but thetent cover eyelet cooperating hooks 22 of the primary poles and thepivoting means of the primary poles are entirely absent on the secondarypoles 48.

The tepee tent will preferably be marketed in the form of a kit asillustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 at 50 with a pair of tie cords 52 for tyingit into a roll for storage or transportation. As shown in Fig. 6, inthis form, each section of each pole is separated and assembled aboutthe upper primary pole sections 16, collapsed together to parallelposition as shown in Fig. 6 with the remaining pole sections groupedthereabout and the secondary pole sections grouped thereabout andwrapped within the tent cover 12 to provide the kit 50.

In operation to assemble the tent into assembled form, the tent 50 isfirst opened by unrolling the tent cover 12 after untying the cords 52,the lower sectionsv 18 of the primary poles 14 are joined to their uppersections 16, then the primary poles-14 are pivoted about their pivots 34and 38 to the limit provided by the chain 40 to a triangular formationand then the spikes 20 are inserted into the ground in a triangularoutline. The cover 12 is provided with cooperatively located eyelets S4for each of the eyelet receiving hooks 22 of the primary poles 14.Obviously, the cover 12 may have its eyelets secured on their hooks 22either before or after the poles 14 are spread apart and inserted in theground.

Then, with the primary poles 14 inserted in the ground and the cover 12mounted thereon, as above, the entrance opening 14 may be opened byuntying the closure laces S6 permitting a person to enter within thetent, now having its bottom in triangular formation. The secondary polesare each joined together, and then each of the secondary poles 48 arelocated between a diierent pair of adjoining primary poles 14 havingtheir upper ends at 58 supported between two adjacent upper ends of thepoles 14 and extending through the apex opening 34 of the tent cover 12,as illustrated in Fig. 1. Then, each secondary pole 48 has its bottomground penetrating end inserted into the ground between the groundpenetrating ends of the two adjacent primary poles, after lirst pushingout the tent cover as much as possible, the tent cover 12 being sodimensioned that when thus pushed out by all the secondary polesinserted in the ground the bottom of the tent cover will be in hexagonaloutline, that is, have twice as many sides with all poles in place asprovided. when only the primary poles are in place, thus providing themaximum area within the tepee tent 10.

The opening at the apex 34 through which the pole tops extend willassisty in providing ventilation, but in casev of rain, a iiexibleclosure may be provided as illustrated in dotted outline at 60consisting of a piece of similar canvas or duck placed over the topextending ends of the poles and the apex 34 and secured thereabout by aresilient cord or tie cord 62 to hold` it in position.

To disassemble and store the tent in the kit 50, the reverse procedureis followed, the secondary poles 4S are first removed whereupon theprimary set of poles may be lifted. from the ground, the cover removed,the poles as sembled in a group after first being separated and thecover 12 wrapped therearound and tied to form the kit 50, thus providinga readily portable tepee tent.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, thedetails are intended as being illustrative of the invention and the.details may be varied as desired withinthe scope of what is hereinafterclaimed. Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of thisinvention,` what4 is claimed is:

I.4 A tepee tent comprising a primary set 'and a secondary set of atleast three tent poles. each, and a `tent cover-mounted thereon, eachtent pole consisting of two separable pole sections, one section of eachpole hav? ing a sleeve secured at a joining end and extending a distancetherefrom to receive a joining end of the other pole section of thatpole, aground penetrating spike on the bottom end of each pole, meanspivotally securing two of said primary set poles together at a pointspaced from the top end thereof, similar means pivotally securing thethird pole of said primary set to one of said iirst two primary poles ata slightly greater distance from the top ends thereof, therebypermitting said poles to pivot to a polygonal formation, exiblerestraining means secured to said primary set poles somewhat below theirpivotal connections limiting the pivotal movement of said poles to eachother, tent cover mounting means secured on each primary set pole, thesecondary set poles being of substantially the same length as theprimary set poles, said tent cover having cooperatively located primarytent pole mounting means for mounting said tent cover thereon, said tentcover having an entrance opening therein, and a tent pole receivingopening at the tepee apex, the tops of the poles of said secondary setbeing each supported by the pivotal joint of two adjacent primary polesat the tent apex and extending therethrough, the ground penetratingbottom ends of each of said secondary poles being located between thebottoms of two adjacent primary poles to maintain the bottom of the tentcover in a polygonal outline having twice the number of sides as thatprovided by the primary pole set alone.

2. A tepee tent comprising a primary set and a secondary set of at leastthree tent poles each, and a tent cover mounted thereon, each tent poleconsisting of two sep-I able joinable pole sections, one section of eachpole having joint means at a joining end for cooperating with joiningend of the other pole section of that pole, a ground penetrating meanson the bottom end of each pole, means pivotally securing two of saidprimary set poles together at a point spaced from the top end thereof,similar means pivotally securing the third pole of said primary set toone of said tirst two primary poles at a slightly greater distance fromthe top ends thereof, thereby permitting said poles to pivot to apolygonal formation flexible restraining means secured to said primaryset poles somewhat below their pivotal connections limiting pivotalmovement of said poles to each other, the secondary set poles being ofsubstantially the same length as the primary set poles, said tent coverand said primary set poles having cooperatively located tent covermounting means for securing the said tent cover to said primary setpoles, said tent cover having an entrance opening therein, and a tentpole receiving opening at the tepee apex, the tops of the poles of saidsecondary set being each supported by the pivotal joint of two adjacentprimary poles at the tent apex and extending therethrough, the groundpenetrating bottom ends of each of said secondary poles being locatedbetween the bottoms of two adjacent primary poles to maintain the bottomof the tent cover in a polygonal outline having twice the number ofsides of that provided by the primary pole set alone.

3. A tepee tent and tent kit comprising a primary set and a secondaryset of three tent poles each, and a tent cover mounted thereon, eachtent pole consisting of two separable pole sections, one section of eachpole having a sleeve secured at a joining end and extending a distancetherefrom to receive a joining end of the other pole section of thatpole, a ground penetrating spike on the bottom en-d ofeach pole, thepoles of said primary `set being substantially heavier than the poles ofsaid sec* ondary set, means pivotally securing two of said primary setvpoles together at a point spaced from the top end thereof,- similarmeans pivotally securing the third pole of said primary set to one ofsaid first two primary'po'les at a slightly greater distance from thetop ends thereof, thereby permitting said'p'oles vto pivot to atriangular fors mation, flexible restraining means secured to saidprimary set poles somewhat below their pivotal connections limitingpivotal movement of said poles to cach other, tent cover eyeletreceiving hooks secured to each primary set pole adjacent their top andbottom ends, the secondary set poles being of substantially the samelength as the primary set poles, but of lesser diameter, said tent coverhaving cooperatively located primary tent pole hook receiving eyeletsfor mounting said tent cover thereon, said tent cover having an entranceopening and a tent pole receiving opening at the tepee apex, the tops ofthe poles of said secondary set being cach supported by the pivotaljoint of two adjacent primary poles at the tent apex and extendingtherethrough, the ground penetrating bottom ends of each of saidsecondary poles being located between the bottoms of two adjacentprimary poles to maintain the bottom of the tent cover in a hexagonaloutline.

4. The tepee tent of claim 3, and an apex opening closure having meansfor securing it on the pole top ends extending through the apexopenings.

5. The tepee tent of claim 4, and said tent cover providing a kit coverfor containing pole sections and apex opening closure.

No references cited.

